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"PETES"
The Professional Expressive Therapy Education Summits (PETES) are provided by the HMHI Expressive Therapy Department. PETES provides free continuing education (CE) credits to current employees and alumni, with a long-term vision to expand access to the broader community through paid registration. The program aims to provide 10 CE sessions a fiscal year – 4 of which will be Zero Suicide, provided by another department at HMHI, which counts toward any suicide prevention training requirements for credential maintenance. These sessions primarily serve art, music, and recreational therapists, though other healthcare professionals such as social workers and physicians occasionally attend. Presentations are 60-90 minutes long.
Educate. Empower. Elevate.
It Starts With Your Session.
UPCOMING SUMMITS
UPCOMING SUMMITS
CE credit eligible
CE credit eligible
Upcoming PETES are free to attend/watch and $25 if you want an attendance certificate for continuing education. The certificate fee is waived for current and former HMHI staff.
You'll register for an attendance certificate at the end of the summit.
Zero Suicide Sessions are free to attend and include an attendance certificate for continuing education.
Pharmacy Basics for Expressive Therapists
Pharmacy Basics for Expressive Therapists
Samantha Relias, PharmD, MHA, BCPS
Presentation Title: Pharmacy Basics for Expressive Therapists
Date and Time: March, 31, 2026 12:00-1:00PM
Presentation Synopsis: This presentation will provide an overview of common mental health medications and their side effects. Common medical conditions, including pain, diabetes, heart conditions, and infections, will also be covered with their associated prescription and non-prescription medications. Use and regulation of natural products will also be discussed.
View Synopsis Here.
Motivational Interviewing – Change talk, why it matters, and how to evoke it in patients
Motivational Interviewing – Change talk, why it matters, and how to evoke it in patients
Marti Bowles, LCSW, MT-BC
Presentation Title: Motivational Interviewing – Change talk, why it matters, and how to evoke it in patients
Date and Time: April 7th, 2026, 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Presentation Synopsis: Motivational interviewing (MI) is an interaction style where clinicians can guide clients through engaging, focusing on goals, evoking motivation, and planning for change. One key element in guiding clients toward meaningful change is to evoke motivation through change talk. Research in MI shows that the mechanisms of client language (change talk vs sustain talk) can predict behavior outcomes (Magill & Hallgren, 2018). Clinicians can use MI skills strategically to encourage and evoke change talk. This presentation will introduce change talk, how to identify change talk (DARN), and instruct on skills (OARS) that can be used to evoke change talk. Presentation will include definitions, research, examples, discussion, and practice as well as concluding with a “real” play example by the presenter.
View Synopsis Here.
Navigating the Clinical Terrain: Management of Acute Versus Chronic Suicide Risk - Zero Suicide
Navigating the Clinical Terrain: Management of Acute Versus Chronic Suicide Risk - Zero Suicide
Katherine Dixon-Gordon, PhD
Presentation Title: Navigating the Clinical Terrain: Management of Acute Versus Chronic Suicide Risk
Date and Time: June 11, 2026, 12:00-1:00 PM
Presentation Synopsis:
One of the major challenges in addressing suicide comes in differentiating between acute and chronic suicidal ideation. Acute suicide risk involves assessment and sometimes urgent intervention to prevent potentially imminent harm. Yet many patients have long term health conditions that are also associated with chronic suicidal ideation. Given the unique interventions required in cases of acute risk, it is critical to distinguish between acute and chronic suicide risk. This presentation will discuss methods for assessment of acute versus chronic risk and outline potential differences in intervention approaches.
View Synopsis Here (Coming soon).
*This presentation is offered through the Zero Suicide program, a separate department at University of Utah Health. Please register through the link below for a Zoom Link and to get an attendance certificate for suicide prevention training / continuing education credit.
Accessing Scholarly Information for Expressive Therapy Practice
Accessing Scholarly Information for Expressive Therapy Practice
Nena Schvaneveldt
Presentation Title: Accessing Scholarly Information for Expressive Therapy Practice
Date and Time: July 1st, 2026, 12:00-1:00 PM
Presentation Synopsis:
In this workshop, Nena Schvaneveldt, an Associate Librarian at the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, will discuss principles of using resources such as databases to locate scholarly information. Participant questions and input are encouraged to ensure that we cover things that are relevant to providing excellent care in your area. Topics covered may include determining where to search, constructing an effective search strategy, modifying search strategies, accessing full text, strategies to ensure a provider is current with the latest evidence, strategies to incorporating information seeking in a workflow, identifying predatory journals, proceeding with ambiguous or poor-quality evidence, and other information-related topics of interest. This will be interactive and hands-on practice is encouraged.
View Synopsis Here (Coming soon).
ON DEMAND
ON DEMAND
CE credit eligible for up to a year past the original presentation date
CE credit eligible for up to a year past the original presentation date
On Demand PETES are free to watch and $25 if you want an attendance certificate for continuing education.
Tips, Tricks, and Ideas for Building Psychological Safety and Engagement in Youth Programs
Tips, Tricks, and Ideas for Building Psychological Safety and Engagement in Youth Programs
Joe Walker, MPA, TRS, CTRS
Lauren Bade, MTRS, CTRS
Presentation Title: Tips, Tricks, and Ideas for Building Psychological Safety and Engagement in Youth Programs
Date and Time: March 10, 2026, 10:25 a.m. - 11:25 a.m.
Venue:
Carolyn and Kem Gardner Commons Room 2900 / Microsoft Teams
Presentation Synopsis: A program is only as impactful as the engagement level of the participants involved! Come learn several tools and techniques that will create psychological safety and increase the potential for meaningful and intentional experiences. Attendees will learn first-hand, in an experiential setting, a variety of concepts and initiative games (that attendees may or may not previously know). Written initiative protocols will be distributed electronically to attendees.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this session, participants will:
Have a deeper understanding of psychological safety concepts, including but not limited to, Challenge by Choice (™ Project Adventure) and Full Value Commitment.
Understand the importance of correctly facilitating and embodying psychological safety concepts
Know at least 2 initiative games designed to teach psychological safety concepts.
View synopsis here.
Music at the Challenge Center/Individual Case Study
Music at the Challenge Center/Individual Case Study
Tori Smith, Music Therapy Intern
Emily Polichette, MM, SCMT, MT-BC
Presentation Title: Music at the Challenge Center/Individual Case Study
Date and Time: February 12th, 2026, 10:00 a.m.- 11:00 a.m.
Venue: HMHI Meeting Room E / Microsoft Teams
Presentation Synopsis:
This presentation will explore how music therapy could be integrated into the Challenge Center at HMHI. It will include practical steps including goals, session structures, materials, and budget included in this integration. The second part of this presentation will include an individual case study of a long-term psychosocial patient and the use of music therapy during their stay. This will include the background, goals, and outcomes included in the treatment with this individual.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this session, participants will:
Identify 3 ways Music Therapy could be integrated into the existing Challenge Center.
Recognize benefits of individual music therapy services for a psychosocial patient at the University of Utah hospital.
View Synopsis here.
Link to register for an attendance certificate and give presenter feedback.
Working With Survivors of Sexual Assault - PETES
Working With Survivors of Sexual Assault - PETES
Hope Walker, LCSW
Presentation Title: Working With Survivors of Sexual Assault
Date and Time: January, 13th 2026, 12:00-1:00 PM
Venue:
HMHI Meeting Room B / Microsoft Teams
Presentation Synopsis:
This presentation will provide an overview of the sexual assault statistics in Utah, factors that impact high rates of sexual assault, and an introduction to consent culture. The presentation will also cover strategies for working with survivors of sexual assault and an overview of services provided at the Rape Recovery Center.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this session, participants will:
Have baseline knowledge of factors that lead to high rates of sexual assault,
Basic knowledge of working with survivors of sexual assault,
know how to refer a patient to a rape crisis center.
Link to register for an attendance certificate and give presenter feedback.
Healthcare Programming With LGBTQIA+ Youth
Healthcare Programming With LGBTQIA+ Youth
Lauren Bade, MTRS, CTRS
Presentation Title: Healthcare Programming With LGBTQIA+ Youth
Date and Time: November 11, 2025 12-1 PM, HMHI Meeting Room B and MS Teams
Presentation Synopsis:
This presentation defines the concept of cultural humility in the context of interacting with people, especially youth in the LGBTQ+ community. It teaches the appropriate LGBTQ+ terminologies for specific groups within the LGBTQ+ community. The presentation helps audience members to understand the importance of an individual's pronouns/pronoun use. Lastly, it will help the audience identify key points in meeting the needs of LGBTQ+ people.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this session, participants will:
Gain knowledge about the importance of cultural humility in respect to working with people within the LGBTQ+ community.
Have a roadmap to understand the different terminologies used by people within the LGBTQ+ community.
Understand and respect the importance of pronouns to people within the LGTBQ+ community.
Link to register for an attendance certificate and give presenter feedback.
Link to the video on Culture Humility.
The Social Approach to Youth Well-Being
The Social Approach to Youth Well-Being
Mia Bickerstaff, RT Intern
Jenni Perkins, MTRS, CTRS
Presentation Title: The Social Approach to Youth Well-Being
Date and Time: Tuesday, August 19th, 2025, 12:00-1:00 PM
Venue:
HMHI Meeting Room B / Microsoft Teams
Continuing Education:
1 Contact Hour / 0.1 CEU / 1 Credit
Presentation Synopsis:
This presentation highlights a Therapeutic Recreation program designed to support youth patients (ages 7–18) in their journey toward well-being. Rooted in positive psychology, Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, and the Leisure and Well-Being Model, the program provides a safe, engaging environment where recreation becomes a supportive tool for therapeutic growth. Through progressive, developmentally and diagnostically aligned activities, patients are given opportunities to discover, explore, and establish the social skills essential for building and maintaining healthy relationships—a key contributor to long-term well-being.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:
Identify two ways to address social needs of patients based on Erikson’s developmental stages
Identify goals that can be utilized to foster healthy relationships, ultimately supporting well-being, within youth interventions
Learn at least three ways that healthy relationships can support well-being amongst youth populations in inpatient/outpatient programming
Navigating Censorship in Music Therapy
Navigating Censorship in Music Therapy
Mary Jane Dibble, SCMT, MT-BC
Date and Time:
Wednesday, July 29th, 2025, 12:00-1:00 PM
Venue:
HMHI Auditorium / Microsoft Teams
Continuing Education:
1 Contact Hour / 0.1 CEU / 1 Credit
Presentation Synopsis:
This presentation defines and explores censorship and its role in music therapy. It will discuss forms of censorship and analyze their potential impact on therapeutic outcomes. The presentation references various articles and research that demonstrates how censorship may shape patient experiences, limit expression, and hinder the therapeutic process, while also considering its potential to protect vulnerable individuals from harmful content. The research presented seeks to balance preserving the integrity of music therapy as a form of creative expression and ensuring that ethical boundaries are respected in the clinical setting. This presentation is part of ongoing discussions about ethical practices in music therapy and hopes to help music therapists and staff better understand the role that censorship plays in music therapy.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:
Define what censorship means in the context of music therapy, including the different forms it can take.
Recognize ethical considerations surrounding censorship in music therapy, such as the balance between protecting vulnerable individuals and allowing creative freedom in therapeutic settings.
Understand the impact on therapeutic outcomes and how censorship may influence the therapeutic process, including potential benefits and drawbacks.
Set guidelines for ethical censorship and offer recommendations for establishing ethical censorship in music therapy, ensuring it enhances the therapeutic process without limiting patient expression.
View presentation recording (FYI the first 7 minutes the sound was off).
Understanding Autism in 2025
Understanding Autism in 2025
Emily Polichette, MM, SCMT, MT-BC
Date and Time: June 6, 2025, 1:00-2:00 PM
Presentation Synopsis:
Presentation will introduce Neurodiversity Affirming Theory, Language, and Practice. The session presenting a grounding to what autism is and how it can show up in the campers involved in the Autism Camp. This will include content on introducing neurodiversity, neurodivergence, and an update on understanding autism. This could be most succinctly be noted as a shift from the medical model of disability to a social model of disability, specifically within autism. Attendees will be offered tips on how to create an atmosphere and interventions conducive to neurodiversity affirming practices and tips to set the campers up for success. Resources for continued learning will be provided.
View full synopsis (coming soon).
You Can Make A Difference: Essential Skills Workshop to Support Individuals in Distress
You Can Make A Difference: Essential Skills Workshop to Support Individuals in Distress
Brittany Badger Gleed, PhD(c), MCHES
Date and Time: May 30, 2025, 1:00-2:00 PM
Presentation Synopsis:
Join this interactive skill-building workshop designed for faculty, staff, student leaders, or anyone who wants to learn how to support someone who may be struggling. Participants learn about common challenges that impact mental wellbeing or hinder one's ability to be successful in their academic, professional, or personal life. This workshop provides participants with an overview of the impacts of stress and trauma and how to recognize early, worsening, and escalating signs of distress. We will focus on building trauma-informed strategies to respond, support, and empower people to utilize resources while staying within your role and setting health boundaries.
Training on Mandatory Reporting
Training on Mandatory Reporting
Gregg Julian, Program Manager, DHS
Date and Time: May 29, 2025, 2:30-3:30 PM
Presentation Synopsis:
This presentation will contain information on how to generally submit a claim of child abuse to DCFS Utah. The presentation will also cover the extra steps in the mandatory reporting process in the event that someone discloses home life abuse while attending expressive therapy groups.
On Demand PETES are free to watch and $25 if you want an attendance certificate for continuing education.
ARCHIVE
ARCHIVE
Not CE eligible but still educational
Not CE eligible but still educational
More Than Wiggles: ADHD and Expressive Therapy
More Than Wiggles: ADHD and Expressive Therapy
Katie Storrs, TRS, CTRS
Date and Time: Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 12-1pm
Venue: HMHI Third Floor Conference Room
Presentation Synopsis:
We will cover what ADHD is vs what it is not. We will then discuss how to use this knowledge to plan recreation therapy groups to be a stellar environment for people with ADHD to promote skill building and task completion.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this session, participants will have the knowledge to turn their expressive therapy groups into a space that fosters skill building and self empowerment by people with ADHD that can be measured via an increase in their task completion.
Continuing Education Credit:
1 Contact Hour / 0.1 CEU / 1 Credit
Increasing Distress Tolerance and Interpersonal Effectiveness for Children with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
Increasing Distress Tolerance and Interpersonal Effectiveness for Children with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
Olivia Barclay, RT Intern; Jenni Perkins MTRS, CTRS
Date and Time: Thursday, August 8, 2024, 12-1pm
Presentation Synopsis:
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) is prevalent in about 2%-5% of children and adolescents, and is a common diagnosis among children presenting to pediatric mental health clinics (DSM-5). Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a great form of therapy to teach children with this diagnosis how to manage their emotions and accept reality. Two of the main skills taught in DBT are distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness. The practice of distress tolerance aims to teach children the skills of managing their emotions, utilizing coping skills, accepting reality, and more. The practice of interpersonal effectiveness aims to teach children how to strengthen current relationships, build new and satisfying relationships, be mindful of others, and more. I have created a 6-week Recreational Therapy program with the goal of helping patients increase their distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness.
Applying Trauma-Informed Principles in Music Therapy
Applying Trauma-Informed Principles in Music Therapy
Emme Corry, MT-BC Intern; Emily Polichette, MM, SCMT, MT-BC
Date and Time: Thursday, May 30, 2024
Presentation Synopsis:
Trauma-informed practice is important to keep our patients and ourselves safe. We will discuss what trauma-informed care looks like in music therapy and how to navigate being a clinician in these settings.
Accessing Scholarly Information for Expressive Therapy Practice
Accessing Scholarly Information for Expressive Therapy Practice
Nena Schvaneveldt, MSLIS, AHIP
Date and Time: Thursday, April 11th, 2024
Presentation Synopsis:
In this workshop, Nena Schvaneveldt, an Associate Librarian at the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, will discuss principles of using resources such as databases to locate scholarly information. Participant questions and input are encouraged to ensure that we cover things that are relevant to providing excellent care in your area. Topics covered may include determining where to search, constructing an effective search strategy, modifying search strategies, accessing full text, strategies to ensure a provider is current with the latest evidence, strategies to incorporating information seeking in a workflow, identifying predatory journals, proceeding with ambiguous or poor-quality evidence, and other information-related topics of interest. This will be interactive and hands-on practice is encouraged.
Not Your Mom’s Values - Using ACT in RT Groups and Outings
Not Your Mom’s Values - Using ACT in RT Groups and Outings
Megan Moser MTRS, CTRS
Date and Time: February 27th, 2024
Presentation Synopsis:
Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in groups for young adults and teens. This presentation will review some of the core concepts in ACT and provide ways to incorporate the topics into specific group protocols as well as outings. It will delve into ways to use mindfulness on outings. As well as provide prompts to increase clients understanding of values, defusion, and acceptance. It will provide a partial demonstration of three specific groups, Committed Action cubes, Values group, and Acceptance group. The groups include intro questions, groups descriptions, and processing questions at the end.
Brave Spaces: Fostering Vulnerability and Growth in Recreational Therapy Practices
Brave Spaces: Fostering Vulnerability and Growth in Recreational Therapy Practices
Abby Peterson, TRS, CTRS, MSW
Date and Time: Friday, February 9th, 2024
Presentation Synopsis:
Recreation therapy spaces work to create moments of vulnerability through meaningful engagement in various ways. With this comes a responsibility for Recreation Therapists in creating a space that fosters both discomfort and validation. As we engage with clients, it is important to be intentional in creating these spaces. Discomfort is an unavoidable feeling within spaces of vulnerability- spaces such as a recreational therapy session. Brave spaces welcome discomfort, allowing this feeling to be both seen and heard, while concurrently challenging clients in their personal growth journey. Many personal testimonials about Recreation Therapy identify small or large moments of personal transformation. Such transformation hinges on feeling discomfort in a productive way which can be encouraged by intentional creation of brave spaces in recreation therapy sessions. These intentional efforts create improved outcomes for individual clients and can also be a catalyst for broader transformation within a group, facility, or the profession wholly.
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